So, I have one friend who's going gluten-free to see if it helps with some health issues he's been having, and another friend who knows he's gluten intolerant and is really, really bitter about it. Neither of them cook much so they both seem to think that they're doomed to a life of either crappy food or unpleasant gut aches. Yes, they're both being rather melodramatic about it. Cue the violins.

To help them see that this is not the case, I’ve promised to do a big fun GF dinner party for them where they will be able to eat everything and it will all be fantastic and tasty. I don't cook gluten-free that often, though, and most of my go-to dishes to impress omnis involve pasta and bread. What are some really awesome, knock-your-socks-off recipes that you find lots of people like? Bonus points if they’re “naturally” gluten-free, if only so that they don’t fixate on things like, “this isn’t the same as REAL pasta” (sigh).

I have arrowroot, chickpea, tapioca, and almond flours. For cookbooks, I have V’con, Vegan Diner, Indian Vegan Kitchen, VCIYCJ, and VPITS at home, and access to quite a few others at the local library.

Tentatively I’m thinking that the Pear Frangipane Tart from VPITS would make a good dessert, using the press-in almond crust, and the scalloped potatoes from V’con are something I’ve been wanting to try.

Thoughts?

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

They do like indian food, but we have lots of indian restaurants around here so I'm not sure I could compete on that level. That said, trying at least one curry dish probably couldn't hurt! Sorry, should have mentioned that given that I have the indian cookbook listed there.

And I didn't think the tart had oats. Is that in the filling or just the crust? I may be thinking of the wrong crust, now that I look at the recipe on the blog - the crust I'm thinking of was a mix of ground almonds and flour, with little enough flour that I figured I'd be able to replace it without too much trouble. Thanks for the tip about the brown rice flour, I may have to look at adding that to my pantry!

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

The Mexican food idea is great. Or you could make one of the polenta recipes from V'Con (either the broccoli one or the poppyseed recipe. . . both are great), along with a nice veggie/bean stew or something.

_________________"Some of my best friends hate Oreos. I once let one use my bathroom." -Shy Mox

ijustdiedinside is spot on - mexi-eats are awesome for those naturally gluten-free dishes.

Terry's spicy tortilla casserole with roasted poblanos is awesome and super omni-friendly. i've made the pine nut crema before with white beans and raw cashews instead of the pine nuts and tofu and it turned out just as awesome (i used 1 can of white beans + 1/2 cup raw cashews + almond milk).

Lazy Smurf's vegan al pastor tacos are also really omin-friendly (we served them at superbowl last year and peeps are them more than anything else anybody brought to the pot luck!). i made them with soy curls instead of seitan and just reconstituted the curls in veggie broth + 1/2 the amount of the spices Lazy Smurf calls for in the seitan recipe. soooooo yum!

my omnivore friends (and husband) have really enjoyed spring rolls with tofu with a peanut sauce. i forget what books they are from but i can look... my omni husband also loves the tofu lettuce wraps from Appetite for Reduction.